NOVEMBER 2013

First responders' lawyer speaks at University Forum

By Amanda Glodowski

What started as a single phone call from a New York City Police Department detective
to a law firm led to litigation that culminated in a courtroom battle that would make
history.

Personal defense attorney William Groner '77 assumed the task of working on a case
that began not on Sept. 11, but on Sept. 12, when he agreed to represent nearly 10,000
9/11 first responders who had been affected by caustic Ground Zero dust.

"That first call resulted in a nine-year litigation that morphed into a 10,000-client,
epic David-and-Goliath battle," Groner said.

Groner told his story at the Binghamton University Forum, held Nov. 14 at Traditions
at the Glen in Johnson City. A psychology major while at Binghamton University, Groner
gave a presentation titled "Ground Zero Dust: Its Mysterious Medical Consequences
and the Resulting Epic First Responder's Litigation." Groner is a member of the Alumni
Association Board of Directors.

Groner's Westchester County firm, Worby Groner Edelman LLP, received a call in 2003
from an NYPD detective that Groner said "changed my life, and the lives of many people."

The detective had been a first responder at Ground Zero, and had recently developed
acute myeloid leukemia. Groner and his partners did their research and discovered
a relationship between the cancer and exposure to benzene, a component of jet fuel.

"It was a tough case, with a terrible injury, but this man deserved to be represented,"
Groner said. More calls flooded in after Groner and his firm agreed to take on the
case.

In order to better explain the magnitude of the poison contained in the Ground Zero
dust, Groner told the Forum audience that "dust was created from everything in the
towers ——6 million square- feet of masonry, 5 million square- feet of painted surfaces,
7 million square-feet of flooring, 600,000 square-feet of window glass, 200 elevators,
and everything else inside. The computers, the fixtures, the furniture, they all became
dust ——up to 1 million tons of dust."

The dust consisted of asbestos, metal, lead, magnesium, acidic aerosols, mercury,
glass fibers, silica, sulfur, and volatile organic compounds. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention even sent its top expert in the country, Dr. John Howard, to
evaluate the situation.

Groner's clients had an array of ailments, including restrictive lung disease, asthma,
obstruction of the airways, inflammation of the nasal and sinus passages, acid reflux,
cardiac disease, and sleep apnea.

With 121 cancer cases on his hands by 2004, Groner was stumped. If the cancers were
related to the dust, there should have been a much longer latency period, yet the
trend within his clients was indisputable.

When Groner asked Howard what he thought about the correlation, Howard's response
was: "It's beyond science."

"Although the presence of so many caustic substances was undeniable, there were many
uncertainties," Groner said. "One critical, confounding question: What is the synergy
amongst the components? This was a new frontier that the scientific community knew
little about.

"We knew we lost 3,000 people in the towers and in the planes on 9/11——that's the
handiwork of Al-Qaeda. But the real question people had was: 'From 9/12 and on, from
the dust, how many more are we going to lose? How deep is Al-Qaeda's wound going to
be upon us?'" he said.

Groner was working on a contingency basis ——unless the case was won, he would not
be paid. Congress had set aside billions of dollars to protect the airlines and the
City of New York against lawsuits. The defendants had incurred $200 million in lawyers'
fees.

"I had the good guys, and (they) had a billion dollars," Groner said.

Groner said that there was a need for New York City to show the world that "[Americans]
are going to be resilient and would come back and get Wall Street lit up again as
fast as possible, and that was the key: If you go as fast as possible, you are not
going to have a culture of safety."

"The duty of New York" was to provide respiratory protection in a clean-up site, and
that did not happen," Groner said.

"We thought we had an absolutely clear-cut case because of that," he said. "The compliance
rate was as low as 29 percent. It was a culture of non-compliance, and safe practices
add costly time."

The case traveled all the way up to federal court, and a deal was ultimately stuck
for an $816 million settlement.

"I think 'Why me?'" Groner said. "First, it was happenstance; it was the luck of the
draw that a resident of the community knew of our firm by reputation and called us.
I think it was a bit of bravado and ignorance (on my part), because if I knew then
what I know now, that there would be a law firm that would spend $200 million in lawyers'
fees to beat us, I don't think I would have taken the case. I was getting to a point
in my trade where I felt really good about what I do, and this was the next big hurdle
to go after.

"Every little battle you fight is a way to present yourself so that you're strong,
you're learning, you're growing ——and then the cream rises to the top. You have to
grow all the way through and posture yourself for success. ... My clients are the
true heroes."

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SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE WITH US! The Alumni Relations office is frequently called upon to recommend alumni who are
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experience, in subjects including national security, politics, technology, career
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Take home a piece of Newing College. The Alumni Association and Uncommon Goods (founded by David Bolotsky '85) offer alumni
the opportunity to purchase banks made from mailboxes salvaged from the Newing Dining
Hall. A Newing bank can be a great keepsake to remind you of your time as a student
at Binghamton. Banks also make great gifts! Find out more and purchase a bank today.